Two-micron spectrophotometry of the galaxy NGC 253

Technical Report · Mon Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1979

OSTI ID:5790362

Wynn-Williams, C G; Becklin, E E; Matthews, K; Neugebauer, G

A very strong Brackett-gamma hydrogen emission line, and the 2.3 micrometer CO stellar absorption feature were measured in NGC 253. The presence and strength of the CO feature indicates that late-type giant stars produce most of the 2.2 micrometer continuum emission, while the rate of ionization implied by strength of the Brackett-gamma line indicates that much, perhaps all, of the luminosity detected at far infrared wavelengths originates from a large number of OB stars. As compared to the corresponding region of the Galaxy, the number of massive young stars in the central 200 pc of NGC 253 is thirty times greater, but the total mass of stars is roughly the same.

• Research Organization: Hale Observatories, Pasadena, CA (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5790362
• Report Number(s): N-79-16749
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640102 -- Astrophysics & Cosmology-- Stars & Quasi-Stellar
Radio & X-Ray Sources
640105* -- Astrophysics & Cosmology-- Galaxies
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBON MONOXIDE
CARBON OXIDES
CHALCOGENIDES
CRYOGENIC FLUIDS
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
ELEMENTS
EMISSION SPECTRA
FLUIDS
GALAXIES
GALAXY NUCLEI
GIANT STARS
HYDROGEN
INFRARED RADIATION
NONMETALS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
RADIATIONS
SPECTRA
SPECTROPHOTOMETRY
STARS
WAVELENGTHS